BRAND REVOLT™
From revolting to revolutionary

July 2008

Sweaty soccer squads from secular societies

Sport and politics do, of course, mix. Every Olympic Games bears witness to this.

But can sport be a brand driver for individual countries?

It is often the underdog that can benefit from unexpected sporting prowess.

The recent Euro 2008 football tournament is testament to the brand building potential of sweaty soccer squads from secular societies.

Turkey made it to the semi-final where they were defeated by Germany. On the day of the match thousands of cars could be seen across Germany draped with German or Turkish flags, and quite often both German and Turkish symbols. Many of Germany’s high number of Turkish immigrants found themselves backing both the country of their ancestors and the country they now call home.

Even in the UK TV audience figures for many of Turkey's matches were unusually high. The cliffhanger Turkey - Czech Republic game drew 5 million viewers.

On the surface it appears that Turkey’s football skills have helped them to position the country as a credible ‘Euro’ team member.

Image above sourced from UEFA Euro 2008.

© Copyright Hira Verick, Sweden 2008